To say the least, his was not the fondest of farewells, and the ensuing divorce has been quite messy. In the end, though, Carson Palmer did leave the Cincinnati Bengals and their city a little something pleasant to remember him by.

The Chargers’ helmeted heads on a platter.

More than anybody, it was Palmer who delivered the harsh new reality to a visiting San Diego team that had won four straight AFC West titles, but left Cincinnati last Dec. 26 as a champion that had lost its crown and would not be playing a postseason game for the first time since 2005.

Finger-numbing cold, icy blasts of wind, snow flurries and a top-rated Chargers defense couldn’t keep Palmer from throwing for four touchdowns in a 34-20 Bengals win that made division champions of the Kansas City Chiefs.

“It was a big game for us,” said Palmer, “an even bigger game for them.”

That was also his last victory in Cincinnati, where Palmer decided he wouldn’t return after seven seasons, notwithstanding a contract binding him to the Bengals through 2014. “Semi-retired” in Del Mar until the injury-plagued Oakland Raiders hastily arranged a high-priced trade with Cincinnati three weeks ago, Palmer’s about to make his second start Thursday night against the Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium.

The fact that only four days will have passed since both the Chargers and Raiders suffered excruciating losses might not be such a tough turnaround for Palmer, whose life has pretty much gone into hurry-up, no-huddle mode since he got the call north.

“I feel like I’ve been cramming for a final exam for about three weeks now,” he said. “It’s been a ton of info in a short amount of time and really trying to kinda weed through some teams, find out what fits me best and our team best."

Reeling from the loss of quarterback Jason Campbell to a broken collarbone after a 4-2 start, the Raiders have lost the two games in which Palmer’s played, initially as the backup to Kyle Boller. Taking over the thrice-intercepted Boller after halftime of that first game against Kansas City, Palmer also was welcomed back rudely, throwing three more interceptions .

Given the start Sunday after the bye week, Palmer was picked off three more times by the Denver Broncos, but he also threw for three touchdowns in a 38-24 loss.

“The first game was surreal, just to play five days after being signed when you’ve been out so long,” said Palmer. “The second or third series I was like, am I really playing a football game right now, trying to come back from a 21-point deficit? And then to have a couple weeks under my belt and get some reps in practice and really understand the protections and the playbook … there’s really no comparison between the first game and the second game.”

His third game will be the ninth regular-season outing for most everyone else involved. While the lockout kept all teams from their usual offseason workouts over four months, Palmer was tossing a football at Torrey Pines High and neighborhood parks, playing catch with whomever was available when his peers were in training camp and playing preseason games.

“In my mind, I was semi-retired,” he said. “I was still working out, going out and throwing a couple times a week. I was hanging out with the family a lot, running around doing 'honey-do' things I hadn’t gotten done. It was tough to focus on working out and training when you think it’s kinda for nothing, because I thought I might not be playing this year.

“So it was just a weird time. I thought, hopefully I’ll get a chance to play the next year. But then things happened fast.”

That the Raiders gave up a first-round pick and possibly another No. 1 choice for Palmer was a stunning statement, Oakland’s declaration that it also was tired of not being considered a contender, that the Silver and Black’s time was now. Not that anybody could reasonably have expected Palmer to step right in and be the same quarterback who threw for 32 touchdown passes in 2005 and more than 4,000 yards in each of the following two seasons.

Palmer said his conditioning level wasn’t a concern, given that he never has played the position like Michael Vick or Tim Tebow. There’s nothing terribly taxing to one’s fitness, he said, about either turning for handoffs or taking a five-step drop to set up his throws.

“That’s not been the biggest issue,” said Palmer. “The biggest issue is just adjusting to the pounding, really, from a game standpoint. Going into last week, I hadn’t been hit or knocked to the ground in nine months. It’s kinda felt good to get banged up and sore, weird as that sounds.”

“He definitely earned it,” said Palmer. “I’m sure he’ll be fined. It kinda felt good to get that out of the way.”

At the same time, Palmer has been under fairly intense assault from outside the field as well. Former NFL players and coaches who are now network television commentators have been debating the way Palmer tried to force a trade by refusing to play for Cincinnati. CBS analyst Shannon Sharpe said Palmer “quit” on his team and its fans.

“It was a selfish decision,” Palmer told Sharpe in an interview last week. “I knew what I was doing. I knew the ramifications. I knew that it was what was best for me and what was best for them.”

Palmer, conversely, cost himself millions of dollars with his self-imposed hiatus. But he clearly wasn’t going to go back to the Bengals, who as it turned out, have done surprisingly well with rookie Andy Dalton at quarterback.

Palmer said he saw every Chargers game, meaning he’s viewed the struggles of counterpart Philip Rivers, intercepted 14 times over eight games. In 2007, Palmer was the quarterback leading the league in interceptions, finishing with 20. (He also threw 20 last season.)

"When you watch another quarterback go through what he went through a couple weeks ago, your heart goes out to him," said Palmer, referring to Rivers’ fumbled snap from center that basically cost the Chargers a win in a Monday night game at Kansas City. "Those things are just freak accidents. You don't know why they happened, what's behind it. Any quarterback could be in his shoes. That could happen to any of us.

"But, regardless of statistics, if you've got a chance to be in first place in your division, that's all you can ask for. Of course, you want to be perfect, but that very, very rarely happens. And he's put his team in position to be in first place."

The Chargers and Raiders are tied with the Chiefs for the AFC West lead, all at 4-4. The return match between the teams in Oakland falls on New Year's Day, the final Sunday of the season. Conceivably, then, the Chargers’ postseason fate again could be in Palmer’s hands.